A Magazine Feature!

Have you seen the newest version of Galway Now magazine?  The September/October 2012 edition is available in shops today in the Galway area.  If you are out and about pick one up.

What will you find inside?  Well, this!  This gorgeous article by Evie Gaughan on page 45, that highlights Irish Quilting.  You'll see a mention of the fabulous local teacher Ester Kiely, one of my favorite Galway shops Pippablue and our very on Modern Quilting Guild of Ireland.  I was incredibly pleased to see a photo by Sarah of Fairyface Designs and a discussion of the craftiness on her blog!  What a great feature, Miss Sarah!

(PS - I know nothing about Furniture Connexion. Please don't take this as an endorsement)...

But wait!  What is this over here on page 46?  Yes!  It's Love on the Blocks!  My very own Love on the Blocks published in a magazine!  Evie was also kind enough to highlight Fluffy Sheep Quilting (the shop) as well as the blog.  Super!  What a fantastic lift to the day!

Evie, thank you.  Thank you so very much for taking the time in your Wellie Diaries column to highlight the creativity and enthusiasm of our Irish quilting community.  You summarized it nicely in your article, "Quilting is really so much more than learning a skill, it can help develop friendships".  Perfect.

Fat Quarterly Retreat Name Tag & A Catch Up

I want to first thank each and every one of you for your warm, welcoming reaction to the shop announcement.  You have been absolutely fantastic; filled with well wishes, enthusiastic, encouragement and several really great suggestions.  I am entirely overwhelmed by how amazing you have all been.  Thank you.  I am so grateful to be part of such a phenomenal community.

Now, you might have noticed that my blogging has fallen to the wayside lately.  I'd like to quickly remedy that.  Let's start with a little catch up....

You may remember that I made a name tag for a secret partner.  It has finally arrived at her house!  Want to see it?

This little tag was embroidered for Sarah, of Narcoleptic in a Cupboard...clearly.  I think she's super fantastic, so I wanted to make something that reflected her fantastic use of color and her clean, clear style of design.

Her little blog mascot is this cute wee monkey...

...so I stitched her little cutie taking a nap with quilty dreams on the back.

I think she's happy with it, so I am completely thrilled.  Did you happen to see Sarah's post when she received her little name tag?  I am so over the moon that she posted photos with Miss Ellicat.  What could be better?  If you have not already read her post, get on over there....you will giggle yourself silly.

I can't wait to meet her in just a few week's time!

In other news...do you remember Love on the Blocks?  Well, how could you forget the School Bus orange?  I still see it when I shut my eyes!

Well, it was purchased earlier this week by a lovely man from Galway.  He is a phenomenal pianist, teacher and eternal optimist.  An all around fantastic guy.  I was just absolutely shocked when he bought it...then a little sad it was leaving my home (if I'm honest), but now I am just absolutely thrilled that it will go to a new home where I know he will take great care of it.  I'm hand delivering it tomorrow night over dinner.  I just can't wait.

And...this is the last bit...honest... I hosted a little pop up shop over last weekend for the local Irish Patchwork Society meeting.  You might remember that I have an awful time controlling myself when the little shops come into our monthly meetings.   Well, this past weekend was my turn to show off the fabrics from the shop.  It was a great preview for the local ladies before the shop launched.  Want to see the little stand?

I could take a lesson or two from several of you (Kat, Fiona, Fiona, Mary, Susan) so feel free to toss ideas out there as to how I can spruce it up a bit.  Still, the ladies were happy...which made me happy.

That's the news, guys.  Again, thank you so very much for making the shop launch such an exciting adventure.  You are a wonderful group of ladies.

In case you haven't already entered our launch giveaway, you can page down to here for a chance to win a 25% off gift cert, head to Susan's for a chance to win Aurifil thread, to Hadley's to win Kona solids or to Sarah's to win your choice of FQs.....  What are you waiting for?

Love on the Blocks: A Finish!

A finish!  A finish!

I finished this small-ish quilt that I created along with my students in the class held at Pippablue.  It's a sampler made from a mix of modern and traditional blocks, but made with super bright scraps to really make the blocks pop.  I am absolutely THRILLED with the finish.

And the back!  Is it possible to like a back more than the front?  Well, I might.  I love the concentric semi-circle quilting with invisible thread.  I won't lie - this was a struggle at times. Still, it was totally worth it.

The two things I've learned from this:  First, straight line quilting is not my friend.  I like dense quilting in repeating patterns.  This rocked my world.  Second, it's amazing how just seeing a finished product will eliminate all of your doubts of color choice, design, size, etc.  Once it's quilted and bound, it's a whole new entity.  Two really great lessons for me to learn.

Quilt Stats:

Name: Love on the Blocks

Made For: Myself. It was part of the class I taught at Pippablue, but it was mostly made for happiness.

Fabric: Kona School Bus Orange back and sashing with Kona Red binding.  The rest was made from a small pile of favorite fabrics that I had been storing away for something special.  

Batting: 100% cotton
Size: about 38 inches square

Quilting: concentric semi-circles in invisible thread

Pattern: Lots of traditional patterns, but with the LOVE block that was designed by myself.

PS - Be sure to come back tomorrow.  I have an exciting post for you!